Delhi-based online sellers to submit tax returns by November end

In a move to crackdown on tax evasion, The government of Delhi has requested all ecommerce companies operating in the capital to compulsory start filing quarterly returns and also release the names of sellers on their platforms. The first tax submission is due as early as the end of this month, which will come as a rude awakening to all and sundry.

A large advert appeared at the start of the week released by Delhi government’s department of trade and tax proclaiming, “Attention! All ecommerce web portals, It is compulsory to enroll with the department by filing form EC-1 online.”

The Delhi government took the step to clamp down on online sellers in the capital after a large number were found not to be paying any taxes. Last year,Karnataka government came down heavily on ecommerce giant Amazon which forced the marketplace to set up its warehouses elsewhere. Recently, tax authorities in states like Kerala and Uttar Pradesh have been locked in bitter court room battles with online marketplaces such as Flipkart who claim to only facilitate the transaction between buyer and seller.

Writing’s on the wall

Flipkart and Amazon recently opened their largest warehouses in Telangana, as it was believed that the tax laws were favourable for ecommerce, but the irony is that even Telangana state govermnent plans to get tough and implement tax rules for ecommerce marketplaces. So it now seems that the writing’s on the wall for etailers and online marketplaces as far tax issues are concerned.